Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Exam – Sample

A 52-year-old patient reports stiffness and painful swelling of the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints that worsens as the day progresses. The expected pathologic findings in this patient include:

A 68-year-old patient presents with a history of dyspnea on exertion, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, weakness, and palpitations. The patient’s electrocardiogram reveals atrial fibrillation, right ventricular hypertrophy, and right axis deviation. The adult health clinical nurse specialist anticipates a differential diagnosis of:

A 39-year-old female patient who is married undergoes a total hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy for cervical cancer. The patient experiences little discomfort as a result of surgical menopause. The adult health clinical nurse specialist’s action is to discuss:

An exploratory study is conducted to examine the emotional responses of family members of patients in the intensive care unit. Of the 52 subjects, 94.2% were white, 86.5% were married, and 44.2% had completed high school, and 40.4% had finished college. The subjects kept daily logs of their feelings and supportive behaviors. The researchers concluded that the subjects experienced a broad range of powerful emotions throughout the patients’ stay. A major limitation of the study is that:

An effective way of incorporating learning into a culturally diverse patient population is to:

A health care organization decides to hire an external consultant to help with reorganization because of the ability to:

A clinical nurse specialist at a university health center cares for a student who has a chronic health condition. The student returns home to another state during the semester break. Because of the established rapport with the clinical nurse specialist, the student e-mails the clinical nurse specialist with a question while on break. When responding to this patient, the clinical nurse specialist is most concerned about:

The adult health clinical nurse specialist examines a patient who is on medication for chronic low back pain, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and hypothyroidism. Which medication, when used over a long period of time, may contribute to a diagnosis of osteoporosis?

Which theory supports the adult health clinical nurse specialist teaching patients a new procedure of home glucose monitoring and using experienced patients as mentors?

The adult health clinical nurse specialist presents a research study on the cardiovascular risk factors of patients who are over age 50. It is noted that all study participants are between 50 to 60 years of age. The potential bias in the study is due to the: